Need some career advice

Question

In October, I received an offer for a new grad position starting in July at Company A. It's a rotational program where I'd be dealing with Infrastructure and Operations for six months, and then I could choose another area or stay with the current team.

This past month, I received a full-time offer before graduation, which I accepted. This job deals with RPA, and at first, I was a bit skeptical since I've heard that RPA is mainly low-code. But the way this company utilizes it heavily relies on C#/.NET and Python, so there's quite a bit of coding. They basically use RPA capabilities as a tool instead of just using straight RPA. I took the job because I wanted to make some money in the meantime, but so far, I'm really enjoying the team and I'm learning quite a-lot in terms of programming. I'll go ahead and list some pros and cons for each company.

Company A: Pros:

• The pay: $80,000 a year with $10k in stock the first year and $20k in stock the second year.

• The company is more well-known than my current company and will probably look better on my resume.

• The technology I will learn at this company may be more beneficial for my career.

Cons:

• They require at least three days out of the week to be in the office.

• The commute for this company will be 1 hour 30 minutes both ways, which is a lot, I know, but remote work is an option after the program.

Company B: Pros:

• The culture is really nice so far, and everyone is extremely welcoming.

• I can only speak for this company, but there is little to no micromanaging; as long as you get your work done, everything is fine.

• This company is basically remote: I only have to go into the office twice a month, and the commute is around 20-30 minutes.

Cons:

• The pay is significantly lower at $60,000, which is somewhat understandable. They hired me before graduation, so I don't have a degree yet for them to consider bumping my pay. I haven't talked to my manager about it, but I'm not sure if I'd get a raise once I graduate in May.

These are the pros and cons I can think of now. Some of you might say this is a no-brainer and to go with Company B because of Company A's commute time, but I also need to consider pay since I am expecting a newborn this May. I would like to be in the best possible place financially, so I'm willing to put up with the commute time for a year to get some nice income going. There is also a 10-15% raise after the new grad program, so having that plus being remote would be beneficial for me. I'm not entirely sure what I should do and would love to hear your opinions.

(I live in a LCOL area)

bigups · Accepted Answer

At a bare minimum, you are losing 6 hours a week of your time by commuting. This doesn't include the cost both physically in terms of maintenance or fares - nor does it account for the added stress.

You may also be expected to continue going to the office *at least* 3 times a week - even after the program is complete. I rarely hear of hybrid workers being able to go completely remote. You also say at least 3 times a week, so who know how many weeks this may include 4 or 5 days a week that you must commute?

Another thing to consider is the vesting period of the stock that Company A has promised you. Sure, they may award you with $10,000 USD of stock, but that doesn't mean you can do anything with it until it is vested. It's not unheard of for vesting periods to be incremental and taking up to 3-4 years until you receive 100% of the original $10,000 USD . They use it as a golden ball and chain to keep you there instead of increasing your salary.

I'd personally stick with the "devil" you know and have a repetoire with already - Company B, request that raise and give some validation for why you should receive it, all the while continuing to search for the best job for you.

I also live in a LCOL area and you can definitely find great paying jobs that are remote and have a great culture - just can take a while to find such roles.

19g616l0vgv1gr · Answer

Easy. After graduation goto company A. They offer better pay, better brand name, and better technology. I know you need to commute, but this seems to be the better opportunity in the long run.

angecorrado · Answer

If the commute is time boxed to the program 6-12months. Then I would consider it a long term investment in myself with the newer tech and diversity of skills/roles. That exposure will help you better determine your preferred career path. The compensation with bonuses is significantly more and should not be dismissed because of the commute. Of course there ways to reduce commute costs (car pooling, mass transit if reasonable, park and ride, etc..). Just make the best of your commute time, podcasts or audiobooks to expand your hard or soft skills.

19g615kv90h7q2 · Answer

Can you use offer A to negotiate offer B (unless you’ve already accepted)? If you can get offer B to match or even 70-75k I think that’s much more worth it as that commute will be brutal. You’ll essentially have 12 hour days including commute time.

1200baud · Answer

That's a rough commute.  If it wasn't for that I would say A, no problem, but &gt;60min starts to get to be a lot.

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